10/03/2010

In order to protect the environment, rational use of non-renewable natural resources, early September, the State Council officially released the "promotion of corporate mergers and acquisitions advice," the first time rare earth industry, mergers and acquisitions as a key list, and reduce the exports of rare earths.

However, the adjustment of the Chinese government in foreign policy has caused much controversy. Stop by the so-called Western countries, exports to Japan of Chinese rare earth rumors, accusations that China Rare Earth monopoly of speech, worried about China's "rare earth beggars", worried about the so-called industry triggered the tsunami, accusing China of restricting measures on the rest of the world have "devastating" requires China to relax controls on the Rare Earth Industry. What is the background behind the uproar? China Rare Earth who touched a sensitive nerve?

Known as the "industrial vitamin", "the mother of new material," the earth, are widely used in national defense, aerospace, electronics, IT, nuclear industry, machinery manufacturing, new energy, green economy and other fields, is a valuable strategy for non-renewable resources.

Statistics show the United States report, 2009, China rare earth reserves account for 36% of the world, production accounted for 97% of world production. In contrast, the United States in 2009 13% of the world rare earth reserves, while the output is zero; Russia's reserves accounted for 19% of the world, yield zero; Australia reserves of 540 tons, the output is zero.

However, more precious than oil or even sitting on the rare earth resources, but did not bring to China the corresponding proportion of the wealth and the right to speak, but drew suspicion and uproar in Western countries. At the same time, China faced a series of embarrassing situation:

On the one hand, the scale of China's rare earth production and production in the world, export volume, but China is not rare-earth pricing. In the global high-tech electronics, laser, communications, superconducting and other raw materials increased exponentially demand situation, "Industrial Gold" has sold cabbage price.

On the one hand, in the global industrial chain, China has long become a developed low-cost supplier of primary products, especially in the field of new materials, rare earth, China has almost no intellectual property rights, a number of rare earth enterprises to maintain the edge in the profit and loss.

However, the Western countries to import cheap Chinese manufacturers but never earth, after the separation of material to produce high-precision technology products and then sold back to China, value-added growth in several times, and even a few times.

On the one hand, the development of China rare earth waste and environmental pollution is serious, rare earth production status is difficult to continue, the proportion of the world's rare earth resources has been reduced, if the amount of resources per capita terms, China is already a country of rare earth resources are relatively scarce; At the same time, Western countries are to stop its rare earth production, excessive accumulation of cheap Chinese rare-earth enough to be used for several decades.

On the one hand, China rare earth has been widely used in military and other industries of Western, is a key high-tech products and weapons materials, rare earth and then low-cost Western countries will not be dumped into the trade blacklist; However, Western countries are in the high-tech products China to restrict exports, especially in the high-tech sales to long-term embargo.

Internationally, the "Rare Earth Kingdom" China has no right to speak, no matter from which side, is unusual paradox. China to take measures to strengthen export management of rare earth and reasonable.

However, Western countries are "much tension," "repeatedly complained," even claimed that China is the "weaponization of rare earth resources." They meet the interests and the "monopoly" button in the Chinese title of the head and attempted to join forces to put pressure on China.

In this regard, the Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said that China Rare Earth Industry is mainly limited the need for environmental protection is the "last resort."

The clamor from the Western countries, we can easily find their "concern" is the price of Chinese cabbage rare earth no longer available; their "concern" is not the so-called "China's monopoly", but the fear of losing their own resources in the international market areas of the right to speak for hundreds of years monopoly;

They "worry" is not "China to earth as a weapon," but in the global high-tech economy and downstream industry chain, and new energy, new materials, green economy, future economic high ground, they will lose competitive advantage.

Bluntly, they want their interests at the expense of the environment on the basis of China.